


Spiral Stairs

by jirumaru



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Horror, M/M, Psychological Torture, Read at Your Own Risk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-10-15
Packaged: 2018-02-21 01:02:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2449553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jirumaru/pseuds/jirumaru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren's thoughts and fears materialized into a world of nightmares, and Levi was lost in its unending mazes and spiral stairs.<br/>(On hiatus; chapters being rewritten for the time-being)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back with writing fanfics again, since it's my semester break. Just like The Third Stitch, I'll do my best to update everyday, but I'm warning you that this story will have little romance and more of Levi being lost in a hellish place. I tagged the relationship as Levi/Eren because the interaction will be solely around them, aaand it's rated Explicit for a reason. Not for smut reasons (I'm sorry!) but because I'll (be trying to) write descriptive gore and horror. Just a heads up for that!
> 
> This was heavily inspired by my craving for good yandere fics (which I sadly haven't found) and a healthy dose of Night Vale.
> 
> I hope you'll like this, and cheers for the good work!

Prologue

 

  
“Poor Mary is a-weeping, a-weeping, a-weeping…”

“Hn?”

“Poor Mary is a weeping, on a bright summer’s day…”

Levi raised his head and discreetly looked around for the source of the singing. The professor was quietly writing down a paragraph on the board, his eyes focusing on the small notepad on his wrinkly hands then looking up to make sure he did not wrote anything wrong. His classmates were busy taking down notes, some were looking outside the window, their eyes cast with a faraway look, some were sneakily eating their late breakfasts.

He breathed out softly and resumed copying.

“Why are you weeping, weeping, weeping...”

“...?”

“Why are you weeping, on a bright summer’s day?”

He grunted lowly. It must have been the music class below them that was creating the noise. Ugh, he hated how they’re always loud and unapologetic about it. Hearing badly-played piano and mismatched voices singing out of tune while trying to ace your midterm exam is never a pleasant experience.

‘I hope someone from the faculty would ban them from practicing on our wing.’

“I’m weeping for a loved one, a loved one, a loved one...”

_‘Shut up already!’_

“I’m weeping for a loved one... “

Levi heard the lead of his mechanical pencil snap when a high-pitched scream broke out from the room below them, startling everyone, as a strong gust of wind entered the room, sending out papers flying everywhere, the curtains dancing rapidly. The professor placed the notepad on the table, instructed everyone to calm down and not leave the room, before marching out to see what the commotion below is about.

The students hurried to the window and tried to peer down on the room below, rumors and speculations spreading around about what it might be. The raven haired man sighed and closed his notebook and placed his pencil under his desk, and looked outside in boredom.

A sudden vibration on his pocket broke him out of his train of thought. He slipped out his phone and opened it to see a text message from Mikasa.

To: Levi  
Fr: Mikasa  
Subj: Lunch  
Message: Come eat with us later

He raised an eyebrow at that. Mikasa never invited him before, insisting that his face will drain out the appetite of her friends.

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Levi  
Subj: Re: Lunch  
Message: Are you high?

A reply came immediately.

To: Levi  
Fr: Mikasa  
Subj: Re: Re: Lunch  
Message: Shut up, you midget bastard. Eren said he wanted to meet you.

Eren?

Ah, right, Eren. Eren, the great. Mikasa never stopped talking about this guy. Levi asked her once if she had a crush on this person, but the girl denied it vehemently, saying they’re very close friends since childhood.

It has only been two years the Ackerman cousins got acquainted with each other, and decided that they’re better off not close. They’re both too headstrong to agree, but Levi being older than Mikasa, usually let her have her way because he could not be bothered to have a fight with someone younger than him.

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Levi  
Subj: Re: Re: Re: Lunch  
Message: Fine, whatever. Where to?

Mikasa texted back the directions to the courtyard near the rear entrance of the school, and he agreed to meet them later.

\--

He arrived a few minutes later, since the incident of the screaming from the music room held back their classes and they have to cram up on writing the remaining paragraphs for tomorrow’s exam. Their professor who checked the room said that no one was found there, and that the music room was locked, even though the teachers passing by also heard it coming from the room itself.

Levi shrugged it off as a badly made prank, fought for a lunch meal on the cafeteria, before heading to the courtyard with his food on hand.

“Levi, here.”

He spotted Mikasa with two other students situated on a long stone bench, a blond one whom he knew as Armin, and a brunet with a stern expression.

That’s probably Eren.

He walked over them and exchanged greetings, got introduced to the brown haired boy, and sat down beside Eren due to space limitations. He opened his boxed meal and picked up a plastic spoon, idly listening to the three’s conversation.

He was halfway on finishing his food when he realized that Eren was barely engaged on the chatter. He replied with one liners, smiled, and went back to munching his own lunch. Levi stole a glance at him. This wasn’t the boy Mikasa described as energetic and talkative. Maybe his cousin was having hallucinations or exaggerating.

Mikasa and Armin announced that they’re going to buy drinks from the nearby vending machine, and walked out still talking. Eren smiled at him before looking up at the sky, just like the ones he saw earlier.

A faraway look.

“What’s on your mind?” he quietly asked.

Eren snapped his gaze to him, a bit surprised. “Ah, I was just feeling a bit ill. Nothing to worry about.” He laughed softly, before picking up his bottle of water and sipping, his eyes going back to stare at the clouds. “Sorry, Mikasa must have forced you to be here.”

Levi shrugged. “Not really. She said you wanted to meet me. Care to tell me why?”

A faint blush spread across the brunet’s cheeks. “Well, she talks about you sometimes, so I got intrigued.” He smiled again, but those did not reach his eyes. “I just wanted to know what Mikasa’s cousin is like. She speaks as if she’s irritated with you, but I hear admiration on her descriptions.”

The raven hummed. ‘Kay.

They fell into a comfortable silence, Eren still looking up at the sky, Levi lost on his own world, when a chill ran down the dark haired man’s spine, and suddenly, the entire place felt cold, and he felt a soft exhale of air on his ear.

“Poor Mary is a-weeping, a-weeping, a-weeping...”

He turned around but saw no one behind him. He looked at Eren, but Eren was still looking up at the sky.

“Eren, are you...?”

The brunet slowly craned his neck towards his direction, and he felt his heart stop when he saw the boy’s eyes were missing, two hollow sockets staring at his soul, and he wanted to scream, but lost his voice, and Eren was smiling, a smile that stretched and warped his face.

“She is weeping for a loved one, a loved one, a loved one!” a distorted voice sang, coming from Eren’s throat, as Levi felt his skin crawl with fear.

  
“Nice to meeeeeet yooouu Leeeeevvvvvviiiiiiiii!”

\--

“-evi!”

Levi snapped out, breathing raggedly as the brunet shook his shoulder gently. He slowly looked up and saw a normal Eren, concern and confusion mixed on his face.

“Are you okay?”

He sighed heavily. “Y-Yeah, I guess I’m feeling a bit ill too.”

Eren looked unimpressed, but questioned no further, until Mikasa and Armin returned.

\--

It was a good thing Levi slept heavily and dreamless every night.

Ever since he heard that cursed sing-song rhyme, he began to hear voices and chants of childlike nature everywhere. He tried to cover them up by playing loud music on his headphones, but they gave temporary relief and nearly destroyed his sense of hearing. Also a good thing that the image of Eren’s warped smile rarely popped in his mind, because that was a sight he never wanted to see again, let alone to begin with.

But one day, Mikasa texted him with an inquiry if he had seen Eren or know his whereabouts. He replied negative, and asked what happened. They met up again during lunch time, but with the absence of food, and other people.

“Here, look at this,” The girl handed him her phone, showing the messages panel.

There were 38 unread messages from Eren Jaeger.

He tapped it open and found a series of garbage replies.

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Eren  
Subject: 0000000000000000000000  
Message: Yellow matter custard, green slop pie

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Eren  
Subject: 0000000000000000000000  
Message: All mixed together with a dead dog's eye

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Eren  
Subject: 0000000000000000000000  
Message: She’s a liar, he’s a liar, they both deserved to die!

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Eren  
Subject: 0000000000000000000000  
Message: in de col men seivuan prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Eren  
Subject: 0000000000000000000000  
Message: have you seen the hare’s tail?

To: Mikasa  
Fr: Eren  
Subject: 0000000000000000000000  
Message: Gyda serch a mwynion eiriau

  
“Uhh... what?” Levi scrolled up and saw more of random messages, the phone vibrating as it received more.

Mikasa sighed. “I don’t know. I tried calling him but he won’t answer. He doesn’t give coherent replies, so I gave up on that.”

“And... he’s missing?”

The girl looked crestfallen. “Yeah. Two days after the four of us had lunch, he stopped going to school. I contacted him but his phone was off. The next day, he started sending out those messages. Armin received them as well, but he was scared and stopped using his phone because Eren sometimes calls in the middle of the night, and leaves voicemails of nothing but laughter.”

“Um... wow.” She glared at him. He raised his hands in defeat. “I have no idea what’s going on, okay? He didn’t even talk that much when I met him.”

Mikasa looked down on her lap. “I’m really worried about him. He lives alone, and I asked his neighbors if they’ve seen him, but they didn’t know. Apparently, Eren never talked to them. Levi, what do I do? I... just want him to be safe.”

“Calm down, alright?” Levi sighed. His own friends never asked for his advice, so he doesn’t know what to say. “Have you ever searched his house? He’s probably there, you just don’t know.”

“I have! But he’s not there. I checked all of the rooms, everything’s in place. It... the house actually looked untouched. Like no one lives there.”

Levi crossed his arms. “Alright, I’ll help, whatever. Tell the guidance counselor if she could make an announcement about this, then ask your classmates if they have seen him.”

Mikasa nodded and they both stood up to leave.

\--

His phone vibrated on his way home.

Levi unlocked the screen and saw an unknown number calling. His eyebrow creased in suspicion, cautiously pressing ‘Answer’ and placing the speaker near his ear.

“Hello?”

“Levi?”

“...Eren? Eren! Where are you?! Mikasa’s looking for you, where have-”

“Levi!! Levi, listen! Don’t go down the stairs, okay? Just don’t!”

The raven man let out a confused noise. “What? What the heck are you -”

“Just don’t! Tell Mikasa don’t go there either! The basement is scary and dangerous!” He thought he heard a low whine from the other line before Eren continued. “Also Armin! Tell him I’m sorry, but don’t go down the stairs! It’s too dangerous! Dangerous for all!”

“What?! Eren, please -”

“ **Basement scaaaaaaaarrrrryy** yyyyy,” a series of giggles followed, and Levi felt terror. “Scaaarrrry stairs! Don’t go down the spiral stairs Levi! **Daaaaaangerous**! You’ll fall and kill yourself!!” Eren’s laughter unnerved him, as if the brunet just made a silly joke, before the whole line become choppy and static noises blurred the laughter, and then the call was dropped.

Nevertheless, Levi isn’t going to get any sleep tonight.

\--

Mikasa was shell shocked and speechless after hearing a recording of Eren’s call.

“So,” Levi began, a can of soda in hand. “What do you think is in the basement?”

The raven haired girl handed his phone back, her eyes wide and unblinking.

“...Mikasa?”

“Levi,” she breathed out. “Eren doesn’t have a basement.”

\--

It was a cloudy Saturday when Levi decided to confront this place.

During the week, he sneaked around the faculty records to locate Eren Jaeger’s residence, since asking Mikasa is out of the question. It was a bit of a challenge to find the exact location; the address was a bit misleading and too similar to others, but after a few questions around, he was able to find the shabby house that looked way too old.

He marched quietly towards the door and surprised to find it unlocked. He pushed it open, the hinges creaking noisily. He half-expected something or someone to pounce on him the moment light entered the house, but the entire place was quiet.

Like nobody lived there.

He reached for the light switch and flicked the bulbs open, illuminating the living room. It smelled of dust and dirt, and Levi wrinkled his nose.

“Sorry for trespassing,” he whispered, observing the interior.

The living room was plain. A small television near the window, placed atop of a cabinet that housed game consoles and a DVD player, an L-shaped couch, a small glass coffee table covered with a knitted blue mantle. There were pictures of people he didn’t know hung on the wall, but there’s also a picture of the brunet with his two friends. An adjacent space to the living room was made into a kitchen. Nothing else worth of noting.

There were two doors visible from the living room. Levi approached the first one and saw a small toilet and bath, the shower stall open. He moved to check the other room, and found it to be Eren’s bedroom. It was a bit messy. The bed faced the doorway, and beside it was a bookshelf that reached the ceiling. There was a dresser and a desk, but both were uninteresting upon inspection.

There was, however, a small notebook that landed flat on the ground. He picked it up and skimmed the contents. It appears to be a planner or a journal of sorts. There were various dates, names and notes scribbled in a blue ink that do not make sense to him. On the last page, there was an instruction.

 

**‘Do not enter the basement.’**

 

“But you don’t have a basement...”

The words suddenly turned into red, a blood-like liquid seeping into the paper, and Levi dropped the notebook, his eyes widening when he saw a white cat sitting on the bed, it’s head turned upside down, it’s eyes hollow, it’s yowl a grating noise that made his head throb, and Levi backed into the bookshelf, his heart beating loudly.

The cat let out another deep, guttural sound, like a dying soul, before it leaped out of the bed to attack him, and he screamed as the bookshelf was pushed backwards, swinging into a curve like a rotating door, and Levi fell backwards as he felt a burning sting on his body.

He looked up only to find the bookshelf missing, an old oak door in it’s place, with a white plate installed on it that simply reads, “BASEMENT”.

Levi quickly stood up and banged the door, shouting for help, for anyone to hear. The place where he is now was filled up with fog, and he was having trouble seeing in this level of dark.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

He turned around and saw Eren, his eyes tired and sunken, his face pale, his clothes dirty with what looked like grease and blood-

He felt a vibration on his pocket, and swiftly pulled it out. A call from Mikasa?

“Hello?” he answered, his eyes going back to look at the brunet in front of him.

“Levi! I found Eren! We’re at the hospital right now, where are you?”

“W...What?”

The brown haired boy smiled at him.

“The basement stairs are dangerous,” he whispered as he turned away and disappeared.

“M-Mikasa...”

“Levi?”

He dropped his phone as the fog cleared, and what was revealed to him were spiral stairs covered in red.


	2. Genesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gen·e·sis  
> \- the origin or coming into being of something  
> \- Latin, from Greek, from gignesthai to be born

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Short chapter here, then the real adventure begins!

Genesis

 

  
 _The basement stairs are dangerous._

Levi picked up his phone from the ground, Mikasa’s call was cut off, a block of text on display.

**Call Ended**  
 **4:39 PM**  
 **10/14/2014**

He shoved the phone back on his pocket, looking around for any sort of escape. Eren vanished into thin air, and no one else could be found.

He nervously approached the beginning steps of the stairs, spiralling down into void. The stairs seem to go on forever, drenched with what appeared to be blood and tar-like substance he didn’t know the name of.

Levi sighed. “I have no other choice, do I?”

Slowly, he descended.

\--

It’s terrifying.

It has only been a few minutes of walking down, occasionally slipping on the wet surface, groaning from the dirt that clung to his shoes, when he felt something following him. He sneak glances from his peripheral vision to check if anyone was there behind, but he saw no one. He was forced to walk in an absurd fashion, his eyes darting back to see whatever it is that was hovering behind, all the while stepping down sideways, careful not to fall.

One step down, when he suddenly felt the air stop around him. He looked around, and heard several moans coming from nowhere. He moved slowly, keeping his foot on check to avoid slipping, when a decapitated head fell from above and hit his shoes.

“AHH!” Levi backed up a few steps, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. The head rolled down the stairs like a ball, its hair sticky with blood. The raven let out a huff, cautiously going back down, until he saw the where the head has stopped rolling.

It was blocked by several other heads, some covered with hair, some drenched with what looked like bile, most of them with missing eyes.

“Shit, ugh..." Levi covered his nose and mouth; the smell was unbearable, and he didn’t know whether he should continue or not. He closed his eyes and turned his head away; he couldn’t stand looking at those.

“Levi?”

He snapped his eyes open and saw a familiar figure on the bottom of the head-littered stairs. He couldn’t make out the face, but he knew that voice.

“Eren? Is... is that you?”

“Levi, what are you doing here?”

The raven swallowed, breathed deeply, and with all the courage he could muster up, kicked the heads out of the way until they fell on the darkness of nowhere, careful to not step on them, until he reached the end of the stairs.

“Eren?”

Eren was looking at his bare feet covered with the sticky black and red liquid, his hair dirty, his clothes smelled like it had been worn for weeks. Levi approached him, placing a hand on the brunet’s shoulder.

“Eren? Are you alright?”

“Mm.” He mumbled, gently nodding.

Levi wasn’t convinced. He gripped his shoulder tighter. “Are you sure?”

Slowly, Eren raised his head to look at him, and to the raven’s horror, found his eyes hollow, just like the hallucination he had when they first met.

“GAH!” He pushed the brunet away, stepping back in fear.

“Levi? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“What the hell?! Who are you?!”

Levi could feel his heart beating harder than before. What the heck is this place?! He tried to slow down his breath and calm down, the panic rising in his chest was driving him insane.

Eren tilted his head to the side, a comical imitation of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You! What did you do to Eren?!”

The eyeless brunet stepped forward. “But I am Eren. Did you hit yourself in the head, Levi?” He chuckled, and Levi shivered. “I told you, the basement stairs are dangerous. Come with me.”

“NO.”

Eren turned around, walking into the darkness once again. “You do not have any place to go. Come with me. I’ll show you around.”

\--

Levi stayed a good meter away from the Eren, who did not seem to notice the distance. They reached a dark wooden door, and the brunet pushed it open with ease. He motioned for the raven to follow in, walking inside with sure steps.

The hallway they entered was illuminated, thank goodness. The wooden floor was quiet when stepped at,and the walls were covered with light green wallpaper. When they turned a corner, the walls were decorated with large framed photographs of a white kitten in different scenarios. There were ones when the kitten was playing, eating, fighting with another kitten, sleeping. It looked like a series of snapshots in the kitten’s growing life, as the farther they walk, the kitten slowly grew up into a cat, it’s eyes blue and round.

But when they reached the end of the hallway, the photographs were blank, but still framed. On the end of the hall was an elegant door, and Eren stopped in front of it, turned to look at him.

“Did you like the photos?” He smiled, his lack of eyes adding to the unnerving combination. Levi wasn’t sure if he should answer, but then “It’s okay to speak.”

“Uh... well, the cat was cute.”

“I know, right?” Eren giggled. “Ah, her name is Iris. She’s my best friend when I was five years old.” He sighed as he narrated his memory. “My mother and I saw her on our way home from school, and she allowed me to keep her, as long as I take care of her. Of course I did! It was a good thing Iris was easy to teach, so she never disturbed anyone. Well, except that she leaves cat hair everywhere, but that’s easy to clean.”

Levi did not know what the point is, but he listened.

“She’s so cute, and I always let her sleep with me on the bed. She also wakes me up every morning, by licking my face.” The brunet laughed. “Sometimes she scratches me too, whenever I wake up late. But I still love her.”

“... ...”

Eren smiled again. “Do you know what happened? Why the rest of the photos were empty?”

Oh no. Did the cat.. died or something?

“This may sound out of topic, but when I was five, I told my Dad I wanted to be a lawyer. I said I wanted to help people and bring justice. He just nodded and told me it was a good career, and that I should pursue it.”

“... ...”

“Then one day, Iris had gone missing. I was crying the whole day because I missed her. But my mother said that maybe Iris just found a friend, and will be back later to eat dinner. So I waited until night, but she never returned.” Eren’s voice was soft, and the heavy feeling of sadness washed over them.

“... ...”

“Months later, I fell sick. I was bedridden for days, and I refused all kinds of food. I missed Iris so much. My dad gave me medicines and shots, but my misery over losing my cat made my recovery long and painful. Eventually, I was healed.”

Eren leaned against the door, his hands resting behind him. He continued.

“And then, I finally saw Iris.”

\--

Levi stiffened. He did not like where this is going.

“My dad called me one day in his office. There were people inside, looking at me. I was confused, until I saw one of them holding Iris. I tried to get her but my dad asked me to sit down on the couch. He asked me questions I did not understand, and the people there were looking unimpressed at my answers. I don’t know why they were asking those things.

“I asked if I could have Iris back, and one of the tall men there said no. They all looked at each other, as if conspiring something, and they all nodded. Dad just watched as the tall man grabbed me and force me down, while the man holding Iris...”

Eren stopped, and turned the knob of the door behind him, gently kicking it open. Levi felt his stomach drop at the sight that greeted him.

From the dark, other room, slowly crawled the white cat with the twisted, upside down head, eyes hollow, its steps shaky and unsure. Levi was frozen on his spot out of sheer terror.

Eren bent down and picked the cat who let out a howl. The brunet giggled, petting the spine of the cat, cradling it on his arms.

“See, isn’t she cute?”

_There is nothing cute about that!_

“Remember the man I was talking about? He did this to Iris. I cried and screamed a lot that time, because I saw Iris dying before me. It hurt a lot.” He beamed, and the raven could no longer guess how sick this could get.

“Good thing they’re all dead now.”


	3. Optical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> op·ti·cal  
> \- of or relating to sight, especially in relation to the physical action of light.  
> \- optic; From Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikós, “of seeing”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter has references to pedophilia and necrophilia, though actual action is not executed in the chapter.  
> Tags will be updated.

Optical

 

Levi woke up in the middle of what appears to be a hospital hallway.

 

He groaned and rubbed his eyes, and felt himself go cold with the memory of what happened before he blacked out. Eren. Eren and his… cat. That damn cat. He did not recall fainting, but he guessed it was just how things work around here. Wherever this place is.

 

He found out that the clothes he had worn when he arrived here were replaced. He’s now wearing a hospital gown and white sweatpants with red stripes. His shoes were missing.

 

There were pages of newspaper scattered around him, and he picked the one that appears to be the front page. The header was written in a language he didn’t know, and the news printed in a font too small for him to read, but one line was in bold, printed under a picture of a child staring at him.

 

**LOOK WITH YOUR EYES, NOT WITH YOUR**

 

The last word was covered with a black smudge.

 

He flipped the newspaper for any clue as to where he is now, but aside from the caption, everything else was either blurred out, written in another language, or censored. He slowly stood up, wincing at the pain in his back from lying on the floor, and walked uncertainly in the dimly lit path.

 

He only saw one door, on the left side of the hall, but debated whether going in there will be a wise idea. He touched the door knob, but before he could try to find out if it was locked or not, it twisted on its own accord.

 

Levi immediately retracted his hand, as if burned. The door slowly opened, showing no signs of light from the inside, and before he could even peek, the lights on the hallway suddenly went out.

 

“What the actual sh-”

 

Whatever heavy object that smashed his head from behind was enough to knock his his entire body forward into the unlit room, his mind reeling from impact.

 

\--

 

He woke up with a start, the bright light of the room he was confined in hurting his eyes.

 

Levi blinked several times to adjust. He looked at his lap and found himself seated in a cushioned chair, still wearing the hospital gown and sweatpants.

 

Sitting in front of him was a man with washed out blond hair, sunken eyes lined with wrinkles, and a dirty beard. He was wearing a white uniform, his hands cuffed in front of him. Levi didn’t even have to guess; this person is dangerous. Even without the cuffs, his aura gives it away. Years of observing people made it easy for him to isolate the malicious ones from the rest.

 

Standing beside Levi was a woman wearing nurse scrubs. She was wearing a medical mask, a brown clipboard in hand. When he met her eyes, she nodded, and pointed at the man in front.

 

Levi stared at the man, not knowing what he was supposed to do. He had decided to catalogue his appearance to pass time, when something flashed in his eyes.

 

A little girl, with bright brown eyes and sandy brown hair, braided on the side. She was skipping around in what looked like a living room. There were other people in the room, a couple chatting animatedly.

 

Another flash, and he saw the girl sitting on the bed, holding a doll in her hands. All he could pay attention to was that the girl was alone, and that her dress appeared shorter than normal.

 

Another flash, and he saw the same girl playing on the river, wearing a child-sized bathing suit. The scene seemed to emphasize on the mole on the girl’s thighs.

 

Another flash, and Levi thought he was going to throw up.

 

The girl was wearing a blue school uniform, sitting in a chair. The first three buttons of her blouse was undone. She was speaking, though Levi couldn’t hear her over the loud sound of a zipper being opened, and then her little hands were reaching out, reaching out to touch a…

 

The raven gasped, and it snapped him out of the flashbacks.  He felt sweat running down his neck, and heard the woman beside her furiously write on the clipboard. The man in front of him was silent and unmoving, as if observing him back. Levi muttered curses under his breath.

 

The nurse touched his arm which made him jolt, and asked him to stand. He did, and he was directed into a different room. He was asked to sit on the carpeted floor, and he obeyed without protesting. The woman left, closing the door behind her, and Levi breathed out heavily, his heart racing.

 

That man from earlier… a ...?

 

But where did all of those fragments of memory came from?

 

He felt disgusted. He knew there was something wrong with that man, and he’s rarely wrong with his assumptions. But he was confused; what was the point of all of this?

 

A test?

 

On what?

 

The door opened, and the woman came in, a child trailing behind her. She ushered the little girl to sit on the floor as well, before leaving once more, the click of the lock being placed from the outside echoed loudly in the raven’s ears.

 

The girl has a faded black hair, strands of brown mixing in, tied into a ponytail. She’s wearing a smaller version of the hospital gown, and barefooted as well. She was staring at Levi with her bright blue eyes, slowly walking towards him, and then sitting beside his spot on the floor.

 

Levi stared back. He didn’t knew why. He didn’t even like children very much. They’re okay, as long as they stay a good five feet away from him. He’s never good at handling them; too much trouble when they cry for attention, beg for food, throw a fit, a good recipe for headache. It was a good thing Levi has a scary demeanor, it warded of people he did not want to interact.

 

So why was he staring at this girl with absolute wonder, like he had seen a stunning woman, a beautiful model out of a men’s magazine? Why was he feeling intrigued, why was he feeling excited, why was he reaching out to -

 

“No!” Levi gasped, moving away from the child. What on earth?!

 

He could feel himself sweating more than ever. What was wrong with him?! He crossed his legs and scooted away, forcing his eyes to look at the wall near him and ignore the heated atmosphere of the room.

 

“Mister?” the girl asked, pinching the cloth of his hospital gown.

 

“Stay away from me.”

 

The girl looked confused. “Why?”

 

“Just… please, for the love of God and for the sake of my sanity, just… sit there, near the door. Stay away from me. I’m not… I’m not supposed to talk, damn it,” he muttered.

 

But the girl stayed beside him. Levi felt his sweat turn cold.

 

“You little brat, why aren’t you listening to me?”

 

“Why do you want me to go away? Don’t you want to play?”

 

His heart started beating faster. Play, as in…

 

No!

 

“I don’t want to play. Just go sit away from me.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

 

“What is that?”

 

Levi looked away to see her finger pointing at his sweatpants. There was a…

 

He folded his legs closer to him and glared at the girl. “Go. Away.”

 

It was all it took for the girl to fall silent, her lips trembling, her eyes wet, before she started crying loudly, snot dripping from her nose.

 

_Ah, better._

 

Levi looked away, not even guilty about making a child cry. It was better than what he had experienced, and the atmosphere did not feel so tense. He was still sweating, his hand clutching the carpet tightly, his fingernails digging violently on the coarse material. He wasn’t even bothered at how dirty this carpet might be, as long as the heavy feeling of arousal was slowly being replaced by pain and discomfort.

 

The door opened, and the nurse called the crying girl to come with her. She instructed for Levi to stay for a while, and then left with the child. He revelled at the silence, slowly killing away his libido, trying to understand why of all things he would feel sexually attracted to a little girl.

 

He was disgusted with himself.

 

\--

 

The nurse returned to escort him, and was then redirected into a room that was similar to the first one. He was asked to be seated into another chair, and another man was sitting in front of him.

 

He has a heavy build, his hair white with age, his eyes sharp behind his glasses. There was something off with the way he looked at Levi, his wrinkly cuffed hands clenching and unclenching.

 

Levi looked up at the nurse, and she nodded, motioning for him to look at the man. He was still clueless as ever, but he did, wondering if he will experience something just by looking.

 

Something flashed in his eyes.

 

He saw a lecture hall, full of students who were writing down on papers, some were reading textbooks, other talking to seatmates. He saw, from the tall windows of the hall, that it was raining outside.

 

Another flash, and he saw an operating table, a corpse covered in white cloth on top of it, and several students surrounding it. Most of them were devoid of expression, some of them not looking at the corpse, some were looking with curiosity.

 

Another flash, and he saw the students performing a hands on process of dissecting the corpse and pointing out the internal organs based from a list on the board next to the operating table.

  
Another flash, and he saw that it was night, and still raining. The memory was one where the person was walking quietly in the hall, opening a door, flicking the light on, and then he saw the operating table again, the corpse covered in white mantle. The scene showed two wrinkly hands removing the mantle, exposing the entire corpse, before he heard loud breathing, and then the hands were touching the dead body, caressing it lovingly, like a…

 

Levi felt his stomach churn.

 

He closed his eyes and willed the images away. The nurse nudged his arm again, and he was led into another room, his eyes still closed, his head hung low.

 

When he heard the door being closed behind him, he raised his head only to be faced with an operating table.

 

Lying atop the cool metal was a woman with pale blue skin, the smell of chemicals emanating from it.

 

The raven’s eyes widened, and he could no longer restrain himself; he screamed and backed away from table, his throat grating with the way his voice being forced out. He crumpled to the floor and, without a second thought, proceed to empty his stomach on the carpet, tears stinging his eyes as he tasted the bitter substance that was falling out of his mouth.

 

He is not touching that corpse. He is not thinking about touching it. He is not thinking about the fact that if he decided to touch it, it would not protest, it would not resist, it would not say no to his perverted desire-

 

_No no no no no no nonononononononono!_

 

He sat into a corner of the room and laid his head on his hands, his fingers pulling at his hair. Why was he being subjected into this? What is the purpose of these tests? Where is he?

 

Where is Eren?

 

\--

 

He must have fainted, because he woke up in a different room, on a blue couch. The room was relatively small; there was a door on his left, in front of him was a television playing a slideshow of flowers and plants, and beside the couch was a small cabinet with a tall glass of water covered with a small plate resting on top of it.

 

He reached out for the water, emptying its contents, and tried to make sense of everything. The nurse was nowhere to be found, and only the sound of soft, commercial-esque jingle of the show can be heard.

 

He stiffened when the door opened, and the eyeless brunet entered, the damned cat still on his arms.

 

“Hi, Levi!”

 

The raven started to panic out of fear, but forced himself to speak.

 

“I… I want to go home.”

 

Eren laughed.

 

“Sorry, you can’t. “

 

He felt himself shake with hopelessness. The brunet smiled.

 

“You should’ve listened to me.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a challenge to write. Whew!


End file.
